Research Support Administrator

Job Purpose

This role is based within the School of Engineering (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences). The School, which is the largest in the College with over 100 members of staff (academic and Professional Services), is a multi-department School comprising the disciplines of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering. The post-holder will play a key role in providing post-award support in the School and will be pro-active role in raising the profile of each School’s research groups and increasing external engagement with academic research. The post-holder will also work closely with the College’s Research Planning team, who are supporting academic colleagues in the delivery of research impact cases.

The post-holder will have significant experience of working as a member of professional services in the Higher Education sector, in particular working collaboratively with academic staff. The post-holder will be proactive in establishing effective relationships with academic and Professional Services colleagues (e.g. Marketing, Research and Knowledge Transfer, Impact) from within the School/College and across the University.

The post-holder will work closely with School and Department academic research group leads and Professional Services colleagues in the organisation and management of events, including workshops and conferences. They will pro-actively manage and develop digital/online communications on the School’s research areas. The post-holder will also work closely with the School Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer to support the School preparations for REF 2020.
 

Person Specification

• Educated to at least Advanced Level (or equivalent qualifications and work experience) and hold at least a GCSE in Mathematics and English at C or above (or equivalent).
• Significant experience of working as a member of professional services in the HE sector for a research intensive University.
• Significant experience of developing effective working relationships with academic staff to develop and deliver plans, with measurable outcomes.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and the ability to learn new IT software quickly to support, inform and improve operational effectiveness.
• Excellent demonstrable interpersonal, organisational, team working and communication skills.
• Ability and demonstrable experience of working accurately and paying close attention to detail.
• Aptitude to prioritise own workload and to complete all tasks accurately and to a routinely high standard even when working to challenging and/or conflicting deadlines.
• Ability to grasp new concepts and knowledge quickly and propose innovative solutions as appropriate.
• Capability to manage own workload autonomously and work as an effective team member.
• Demonstrable ability to provide effective, high quality customer service and to make suggestions relating to service enhancements.
• The ability to develop content for use on the internet and social media as a means of communication.
• The ability to understand budgets and make recommendations as a result of budget analysis.